Speed Birding --- 9 Stops in an Afternoon ~ January 24, 2023

I made a circuit around central Northampton County this afternoon, making brief stops at nine different spots.

Stop 1) Hollo Road pines. This was an unplanned stop where I saw two Wild Turkeys feeding in the stubbled cornfield next to the pines.

Wild Turkey

Stop 2) Hollo Road near Route 191. This was another unplanned stop where I saw four Turkey Vultures feeding on a deer carcass next to the road.

Turkey Vulture

Stop 3) Sickle Road pond. Mike Schall had reported 6 Gadwall at a private pond along Sickle Road, west of Bath. I stopped there and quickly found all six still present.

Gadwall

Just up the road from there were 22 domesticated Graylag Geese, commonly known as "barnyard geese". Many of the hybrids seen at duck-feeding areas are derived from this species mating with Mallards and others.

Domesticated Graylag Geese

Stop 4) Seiple's farm pond. A male Common Merganser was in the pond with a group of 58 Canada Geese while 2 Black Vultures and 2 Turkey Vultures were overhead.

Stop 5) Arrowhead Road. I was hoping to find some Horned Larks here but, instead, I found 6 Turkey Vultures feeding on what was left of an animal carcass. Some of the more than 250 American Crows were taking turns at it and, soon after, harassed a Red-tailed Hawk that came in for a bite, but the big highlight here was a Peregrine Falcon that swooped in and grabbed one of the 200 European Starlings and carried it off to the north before I even had the chance to get out of the car and try for a photo.

Stop 6) Silver Crest Road pond. Here, I found 2 Ring-necked Ducks, a Common Merganser, and a Great Blue Heron among the roughly 300 Canada Geese.

Stop 7) Regency Boulevard retention ponds. The large field just to the west behind the houses held around 1500 Snow Geese. The ponds held 24 Snow Geese (one of them a "Blue" Goose) among around 800 Canada Geese, plus a Great Blue Heron. I was able to find a Cackling Goose swimming with them in the north pond.

A "Richardson's" Cackling Goose in front of a Canada Goose

Stop 8) I stopped along Green Pond Road where the high-tension wires cross the fields when I spotted an adult Bald Eagle flapping westward just north of Route 22. Unfortunately, it was too distant for photos. A Red-tailed Hawk was perched on one of the towers and about a thousand Snow Geese were winging it overhead.

Stop 9) My last stop was at the Green Pond area. A total of 41 Mallards were in the retention pond along Farmersville Road, and 5 American Black Ducks and 2 Snow Geese were among around 200 Canadas in the retention pond along Green Pond Road. I was back home by 4:00.

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A Landfill, a Pond, a Park, and a Quarry ~ January 21, 2023

Every quarter or so, Waste Management leads a walk into the Grand Central Landfill near Pen Argyl. I was part of the group on their 11 AM walk. Unfortunately, the walk did not include a vantage point where you could check out the gulls while on the ground. The only gulls seen were ones that were circling over the landfill, so there were no unusual gull species identified. Notable birds seen there included around 6 Bald Eagles, 13 Common Ravens, and a Cooper's Hawk.

Bald Eagle

I drove down the hill on Pen Argyl Road and stopped to check the north side of the landfill to see if I could see any gulls from there. Again, they were not visible, but I did see a male American Kestrel and a Belted Kingfisher in the small impoundment there.

Belted Kingfisher

I drove over to the Albert Road ponds and found 8 Common Mergansers, 7 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Cackling Goose among the 250 Canadas on the private north pond.

Cackling Goose

From there, I made the very short drive over to Ballas Park. It was the middle of the day, so I didn't expect to see much, especially since it was pretty windy. However, I did find a couple American Tree Sparrows and four Field Sparrows.

American Tree Sparrow

Field Sparrow

On the way back home, I stopped at the Nazareth Quarry. The quarry held around 6000 Snow Geese, 89 Ruddy Ducks, 21 American Coots, 11 Buffleheads, 9 Common Mergansers, 5 Redheads, 3 American Black Ducks, a Greater Scaup, a Lesser Scaup, and a Pied-billed Grebe. Two Eastern Bluebirds were in the woods at the edge of the quarry.

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An Afternoon of Eagles, Redheads, and More ~ January 16, 2023

Around noon, I headed over to the Regency Boulevard retention ponds. On the way there, I spotted two Bald Eagles perched in a snag along Steuben Road where it crosses the Monocacy Creek.

A pair of Bald Eagles

A male Belted Kingfisher was perched on a branch over the creek close to the road. I took a couple photos of it, but unfortunately, the lighting wasn't the best.

Belted Kingfisher

The Regency Boulevard ponds had been frozen for a couple weeks, but now they were mostly open again and held around 250 Canada Geese. I started scanning through them and discovered a male Redhead. It was the first one I had ever seen there.

Redhead

Also among the geese, I was able to pick out a Cackling Goose and two Snow Geese, one of them a "Blue" Goose.

Cackling Goose

"Blue" Goose

There were around 70 American Crows in the field behind the houses. Soon after, about 35 Fish Crows gave their nasal calls as they flew overhead.

Fish Crow

As I was leaving, I noticed about ten Mourning Doves flying past me followed by a larger bird. As it swooped up and banked away, I got a nice look at it and realized that it was an adult Peregrine Falcon! Unfortunately, until I got to a spot where I could park the car and try and get a photo, it was already winging its way off to the southeast. It was another new species for me at the site. I searched for a while, hoping that it would return. I did refind it circling with two Black Vultures, but it was too far away for photos.

I made the short drive up to the Silver Crest Road pond. A Great Blue Heron stood in the one corner of the partially-frozen pond.

Great Blue Heron

I searched through the roughly 350 Canada Geese. There were no ducks, but one of the geese had white markings along the neck and the back of the head. My guess is that it was a leucistic Canada Goose.

A leucistic Canada Goose

From there, I headed for the Nazareth Quarry. At the pond along Georgetown Road, there were 4 Black Vultures and a Turkey Vulture feeding on a deer carcass right next to the road.

A Turkey Vulture with some Black Vultures

Black Vulture

At the Nazareth Quarry, there were an estimated 15,000 Snow Geese present. Other birds in the quarry included American Black Ducks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Common Mergansers, American Coots, and 5 Redheads. I managed to get a photo with four of the five in it.

Redheads

On the way home, I drove by the Newburg Road retention pond and saw a Bald Eagle flying off to the southeast. While checking out a Red-tailed Hawk atop one of the high-tension towers, I spotted another raptor flying near it. That turned out to be a Northern Harrier, a nice end to the afternoon.

Northern Harrier

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A Merlin Starts Off the New Year ~ January 1, 2023

I went out on the back porch to clean the dried mud off of my boots from yesterday's Christmas Bird Count and the first bird of the year that I saw were three American Robins. Soon after, I started hearing Snow Geese, so I starting checking the sky. Over the next hour or so, I saw at least 6,000 Snow Geese winging their way south. That's also when I noticed a Merlin scattering a small group of Starlings. It eventually landed atop one of the neighbor's spruce trees where I got these photos. It was a good start to what hopefully will be a good year.

Merlin

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